Gale Watch in effect starting Monday afternoon

February 23, 2025 by Leave a Comment

UPDATE 3:09 PM: A Wind Advisory is in effect starting 1:00 PM Friday through 7:00 Tuesday morning.

…WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM MONDAY TO 7 AM PST TUESDAY…

Issued by NWS Seattle WA

* WHAT…South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 to 50 mph expected.
* WHERE…Portions of northwest and west central Washington.
* WHEN…From 1 PM Monday to 7 AM PST Tuesday.
* IMPACTS…Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
* PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicles. Secure outdoor objects.

Beginning of original post below.

The tides that coincide with the potential winds starting on Monday are estimated at 9.60 feet at 1:07 pm, going down to -0.67 feet and then heading up to 11.30 feet at 4:18 am on Tuesday morning.

In my opinion, Tuesday morning in the wee hours may be the most exciting part of the storm; especially for those who are lucky enough to live on the west side of Beach Drive. It’s possible we could see some water splashing over seawalls if we have enough 40 mph gusts building up the waves.

If we see constant gusts in the 40’s from 4pm through early Tuesday, we could also potentially have some power outages. This Wind Alert graph is based on forecasted winds for the area around Alki Light House.
…GALE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING…

Issued by NWS Seattle WA
* WHAT…Southeast winds 30 to 40 kt possible.
* WHERE…East Entrance U. S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca, Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands, Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound and Hood Canal.
* WHEN…From Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning.
* IMPACTS…Strong winds can cause hazardous seas which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility.
* PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Gale Watch is issued when the risk of gale force winds of 34 to 47 knots has significantly increased, but the specific timing and/or location is still uncertain. It is intended to provide additional lead time for mariners who may wish to consider altering their plans.

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather

Windy Weather: GALE WATCH

February 22, 2025 by Leave a Comment

UPDATE 2/22/25 at 3:39 pm: A GALE WATCH is in effect starting Monday at 4:00 pm through Tuesday at 7:00 am.

NOTE: 1 knot is approximately 1.151 mile per hour. 25 to 35 kts is approximately 28.8 to 40.2 mph.

Issued by NWS Seattle WA

* WHAT…South winds 25 to 35 kt possible.
* WHERE…Puget Sound and Hood Canal.
* WHEN…From Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning.
* IMPACTS…Strong winds can cause hazardous seas which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility.
* PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Gale Watch is issued when the risk of gale force winds of 34 to 47 knots has significantly increased, but the specific timing and/or location is still uncertain. It is intended to provide additional lead time for mariners who may wish to consider altering their plans.

START OF THE ORIGINAL POST:

Based on current forecast from Wind Alert, we could have some spectacular weather coming up. Check this condensed view showing gusts hitting 50 mph on Monday and Tuesday.


Today’s forecasted wind peak with gusts estimated at 39 mph at 4:00 pm while the tide will be low (around 2.7 feet).

On Sunday, the forecasted wind peaks from around 5pm to 7pm, during low tides again. 😅


Monday (and Tuesday) is set to be another story as you saw from my teaser at the beginning of this post.


Of course, a lot can change between now and Monday and I’m using a blend of the available models on Wind Alert. If this is accurate, we may have gusts in the 40s from 4:00 pm Friday to 5 am Tuesday.

How about those tides? At 4:00 pm on Friday, tides are estimated to be around 6 feet and heading down to a low of -0.7 feet at 8:22 pm. The next high tide is estimated to be 11.30 feet at 4:18 am Tuesday when gusts are estimated in the 40’s from the southwest. We will be keeping a close eye on this.

We do have a flood watch in effect through late Tuesday for all the rain that’s in the forecast.

Stay tuned and get those flashlights ready!

By the way, be sure to follow us on Facebook for more updates.

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather Tagged With: ,

Tsunami Advisory Issued

January 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment

You probably just received an alert via your cell phone for a Tsunami Advisory for coastline in King County. The tsunami was caused by an underwater volcano erupting near the Tonga Islands.

I just checked out the map on Tsunami.gov and it “appears” that we should be safe if the map is accurate.


High tide was 11.69 ft at 5:06 am. As I write this post (10:15 am), the current tide is approx. 8.33 feet and will be heading back up to 10.23 feet around 2:15 this afternoon.

At the very least, for our area, this could be an opportunity to practice for a tsunami. We hope everyone along the west coast, San Juan Islands and around the world are safe!

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather Tagged With:

Barking Dog Report: Gale Watch in Effect Friday Evening

December 9, 2021 by Leave a Comment

It looks like we’re in for a doozy of a storm starting Friday afternoon and possibly lasting through the weekend with strong gusts and plenty of rain. The graph from Wind Alert shows potential gust reaching up to 48 mph with wind in the 40s from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am. The bottom graph shows us in the “red zone” for most of the weekend. 
Here’s what we have for the high tides:

  • Friday: 12.29 ft at 10:31 am
  • Saturday: 12.09 ft at 11:18 am
  • Sunday: 11.90 ft at 12.01 pm.

Last but not least, the marine forecast:

PZZ135-100145-
Puget Sound and Hood Canal-
833 AM PST Thu Dec 9 2021

GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY
MORNING

TODAY
SW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. Showers.

TONIGHT
SW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. Showers
likely in the evening then a chance of showers after midnight.

FRI
S wind 10 to 20 kt rising to 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon.
Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. A chance of showers in the morning then
showers in the afternoon.

FRI NIGHT
S wind 20 to 30 kt rising to 25 to 35 kt after
midnight. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft.

SAT
S wind 25 to 35 kt becoming SW 20 to 30 kt in the
afternoon. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft.

SAT NIGHT
S wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft.

SUN
S wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft
subsiding to 1 ft or less.

Right now it looks like it’s possible that the strongest winds might miss the higher tides. At the very least, it’s always a good idea to be prepared for ANOTHER gale force storm.

Stay safe neighbors!

 

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather Tagged With: , ,

Next! Another windy and wet day.

November 5, 2021 by Leave a Comment

I’m a little iffy on whether or not this should be an official barking dog report. Yesterday, as my hubby was teasing me for predicting we could flood with the Barking Dog post until late afternoon when the winds seem to suddenly pick up and voila, we had some water splashing over the seawall. Nothing was damaged at our home except for a large flower pot that was too close to the seawall.

Tomorrow looks like we could potentially have some more water slurping over with the higher tides and extended periods of strong winds that have been forecasted.

Tomorrow’s high tides are 12.14 feet at 7:05 am and 11.84 feet at 5:47 pm. It’s possible we could see tides slightly higher. During yesterday’s storm, a coastal flooding warning was issued increasing the tide by 1.1 feet.

Check out Windalerts forecast (as of 2:48 pm 11/5/2021). I’m including the “free version” and the “plus” version (typically we just have the free version). The forecast show similar stories as far as constant strong winds… but the “plus” version on the bottom is showing much stronger winds with gusts in the upper 40’s around 7am vs gusts around 26mph on the free version. I guess we’ll see which one is more accurate tomorrow morning!


Here is the Puget Sound Marine Forecast. Note: 30 knots is about 35 mph.

Puget Sound and Hood Canal-  213 PM PDT Fri Nov 5 2021

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.
TONIGHT: S wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. A slight chance of rain in the evening  then rain likely after midnight.
SAT:  S wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. Rain in the morning then showers and a  slight chance of tstms in the afternoon.
SAT NIGHT:  S wind 20 to 30 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. Showers and a slight chance of tstms in the evening  then rain after midnight.

The National Weather Service forecast supports winds in the upper 30s.

Saturday
Rain. High near 47. Breezy, with a south wind 13 to 18 mph increasing to 23 to 28 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
Rain. Low around 42. South wind 17 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

If you have pumps out, you just might want to keep them out until Monday. Tis the season! 

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather Tagged With: ,

Barking Dog Report: Howling Wind forecasted for tomorrow

October 12, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Tomorrow is set to have extremely strong winds combined with waves. Check out this graph from WindAlert.

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory as of 3:40 pm today:

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 6 PM PDT TUESDAY...

* WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts 45 to 50 mph
  expected.

* WHERE...Southwest Interior, Everett and Vicinity, Tacoma Area,
  Hood Canal Area, Bellevue and Vicinity, Seattle and Vicinity
  and Bremerton and Vicinity.

* WHEN...From noon to 6 PM PDT Tuesday.

It looks like the tides for tomorrow are

High Tide: 1:58 AM  at 8.75 feet

Low Tide:  8:27 AM at 0.57 feet

High Tide: 3:31 PM at 11.23 feet

Low Tide:  9:40 PM at 4.34  feet

Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

PZZ135-130645-
Puget Sound and Hood Canal-
243 PM PDT Mon Oct 12 2020

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
TUESDAY AFTERNOON...
...GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY
EVENING...

TUE
SE wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW 20 to 30 kt in the
afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. Rain in the morning then rain
likely in the afternoon. 

TUE NIGHT
SW wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt after
midnight. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft subsiding to 2 to 4 ft after
midnight. A chance of showers in the evening then a slight chance
of showers after midnight.

Of course forecast can and do change… it’s hard to believe with how calm and beautiful it is right now that tomorrow is predicted to be a very blustery day.

Stay safe!

NOTE: It looks like I need to update some links on the “swell links” section. I’ll get to that soon!

 

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather

Potential Barking Dog Report: Wind, Waves and High Tides predicted for tomorrow

February 21, 2019 by 2 Comments

We have been keeping an eye on our mobile aps, WindAlert and PredictWind, which are both indicating that we could be in for quite a storm tomorrow morning. This, of course, coincides with very high tides of 12.8 feet at 7:00 am tomorrow morning.

Check out the tides predicted for tomorrow and how it potentially pairs with the wind forecast.

Here is the Puget Sound and Hood Canal Marine Forecast (last updated at 2:41 am):

 FRI  S wind 20 to 30 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. A chance of rain  in the morning then rain likely in the afternoon.

 FRI NIGHT  S wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after midnight.

If this forecast holds, we think there’s a strong potential that we could experience waves slosh over our bulkhead… especially if the wind direction leans to the southwest.

Last but not least, we’ve used a picture of a howling golden retriever for our “barking dog” reports warning of potential weather issues. We thought you might like to see our retriever in action.

Hitch dedicates this song to his favorite gal, Indie.

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather Tagged With: , , , ,

Lowest Tides of the year & Starfish sightings

June 14, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Tomorrow’s -3.7 tide represents the lowest of the year & gives beach combers a good opportunity to see how the starfish recovery is going. Sea star Waisting Desease nearly wiped out our entire local populations starting back in 2013.

I spoke to a neighbor that had walked a few blocks of low tide shoreline along Beach Drive today. She mentioned only seeing 3 starfish clinging some of the larger rocks but was happy to report that they were making a big comeback just north of Seattle along Discovery Park. She went on to say that “biologists were stunned how fast the recovery was coming along”.

While scientists claim we’re not out of the woods yet in the Salish Sea, they’re optimistic that we’re near the end of the epidemic.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Puget Sound, Scupper, Tides

High Wind Watch and Gale Warning for tomorrow

April 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Tomorrow’s weather looks like it could be spectacular…kind of like the cherry blossoms that are just starting to bloom.

The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Watch (last updated at 11:05 am today as of the writing of this post).

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Seattle WA
1105 AM PDT Thu Apr 6 2017

...HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY
EVENING...

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a High Wind
Watch, which is in effect from late Friday morning through early Friday
evening.

* WIND...Possible south wind 20 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60
mph.

* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS...Tacoma...Seattle...Everett...Port
  Townsend...Whidbey Island...The San Juan Islands...and
  Bellingham.

* TIMING...Strongest winds are most likely Friday afternoon.

* IMPACTS...Winds of this strength can break branches off of
  trees...topple weakened trees and produce power outages.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A High Wind Watch means there is the potential for a hazardous
high wind event. Sustained winds of at least 40 mph...or gusts of
58 mph or stronger may occur. Continue to monitor the latest
forecasts.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL- 231 PM PDT THU APR 6 2017
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FRIDAY
TONIGHT S WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING N. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.  RAIN AFTER 
MIDNIGHT.
 
FRI  SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT BECOMING S 30 TO 40 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. 
WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FT IN THE  AFTERNOON. 
RAIN IN THE MORNING THEN SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
FRI NIGHT  S WIND 25 TO 35 KT EASING TO 15 TO 25 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. 
WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. A CHANCE OF 
SHOWERS.

Ready for another colorful picture? Check out Wind Alert's forecast for 
Lincoln Park.


EEEKS!!!! If the forecast is correct, we're in for some major wind from 
Mother Nature... some good news -- looks like the timing of the tides may 
be cooperating.


With that said, we are still preparing to potentially flood...we don't 
think it's likely, but would rather be safe than sorry. 

The joys of living on Puget Sound!
Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather

Barking Dog Report: Wind Advisory with High Tide

November 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Barking-Dog-ReportThe National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory starting at 9:00 am this morning and going though 3:00 pm this afternoon…this is just in time for a very high tide of 12.15 at 2:24 pm.

Remember, we call this a “barking dog report” because just like your neighbors dog that barks a little too much… sometimes there’s actually a reason for the barking. We issue a “barking dog report” when we think there is a good probability that we may have flooding from water coming over the bulkhead.

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
435 AM PST SAT NOV 12 2016

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 3 PM
PST THIS AFTERNOON...

* TIMING...STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING
  THROUGH 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON.

* WINDS...SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH.

* IMPACTS...WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE CAN BREAK TREE LIMBS FALLING
  ONTO ROADS...VEHICLES...AND ROOFTOPS. ISOLATED POWER OUTAGES ARE
  POSSIBLE.

2016-11-12-tides

The Puget Sound Marine forecast:

S WIND 15 TO 25 KT…BECOMING SW 20 TO 30 KT LATE IN THE
MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT…BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT.  RAIN IN THE MORNING…THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.

Wind Alert has the strongest gusts predicted around 11:00 am through 2:00 pm today.

2016-11-12-wind

If not for the 12 foot tides and currently predicted strong southwest winds… I *might* not be yapping right now. And want to give neighbors as much notice as possible in the event some of us flood.

Weather forecast change constantly. These reports are from around 4:00 am this morning (not sure how current Wind Alerts reporting is).

Stay tuned and be safe!

Filed Under: Safety, Tides, Weather
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